Virat Kohli is today widely regarded as the best batsman in the world across all formats. The biggest reason why Kohli is so dominant in international cricket is due to his immense self-belief and mental toughness. Although recently in a conversation with Mark Nicholas on his ‘Not Just Cricket’ podcast Kohli revealed when he felt like the ‘loneliest guy in the world’.
Kohli told Mark Nicholas that mentally he was at his lowest and even battled depression during the horror Test series in England in 2014. When former England player Nicholas asked Kohli whether he experienced depression after failing in the series his answer was ‘Yes’. Kohli added it was the worst feeling when he would wake up and he knew he was not going to score any runs.
Virat Kohli admits he suffered depression during 2014 England tour
“It’s not a great feeling to wake up knowing that you won’t be able to score runs and I think all batsmen have felt that at some stage that you are not in control of anything at all”, Kohli said.
“You just don’t understand how to get over it. That was a phase when I literally couldn’t do anything to overturn things. I felt like I was the loneliest guy in the world”, Kohli said about the 2014 England tour.
Meanwhile, back then Kohli was just 25-year-old and was expected to lead the charge for India with the bat in the Test series. Unfortunately, he failed miserably and could score only 134 runs in 10 innings in what turned out to be nightmare series for him. Kohli admitted he was extremely lonely during that phase and he had no professional to talk to about his depression where he would like to see a change in cricket going forward.
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“Personally, for me that was a revelation that you could feel that lonely even though you a part of a big group. I won’t say I didn’t have people who I could speak to but not having a professional to speak to who could understand what I am going through completely, I think is a huge factor. I think I would like to see it change”.
“I strongly feel the need for professional help there to be very honest”, Kohli said on Mark Nicholas podcast ‘Not Just Cricket’.
Furthermore, since then Kohli has gone from strength to strength and became arguably the best batsman of his generation. Kohli will be next seen in action during the pink-ball Test against England at Ahmedabad that will be played between February 24 to 28.
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